Page 5 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

“Hold up, now. Are you seriously telling me you’re going to listen to that lady? She’s got the worst case of resting asshole face I’ve ever seen. Kind of fits with her name beingMs. Heathen.”

My head fell back in laughter. “I thought his teacher was Ms. McKeathen?”

Kingston was right. She was one of the scariest teachers I’d ever had. She’d been my first-grade teacher when I was a kid, and I was terrified of her back then.

“It is.” Nash rolled his eyes. “He just insists on calling her Ms. Heathen. And it’sresting bitch face. Not asshole face. Get your insults straight.”

“Listen, she gave him the tuna casserole for lunch last week when you’d ordered him the pizza. She’s an asshole. And so is her face.” Kingston folded his arms over his chest.

Nash pinched the bridge of his nose, and Kingston winked at me.

He’s always the brightest light in every room.

“Okay. Can we focus, please?” Nash turned his attention to me. “We’ve got a crew coming over to start building the bookshelves, and King is going to build the checkout counter for you. He’ll be the one working at this site most of the time. I’ve got to be out at Brighton Ranch because that renovation has been a real shit show.”

“You’ve got this. Just be careful. Mrs. Brighton is such a horndog. Nash will tell you, Saylor, the woman purposely grazed my junk with her hand when she was talking to us last week. She just helped herself to the goods, like she was entitled to them.” Kingston shivered dramatically, and I laughed harder.

Nash shook his head and tried to hide his smile. “Yeah. She wasn’t even smooth about it. So now this one doesn’t want to be over there at all.”

“Listen, I don’t need Mrs. Brighton, aka Mrs. Robinson, grabbing my dick and getting her crazy-ass husband jealous. The man has a room just for his guns. I’ll work much better over here. It’s all about love at the bookstore. Plus, I’m the better woodworker, and we have a lot of bookshelves to build, as well as getting this register station put together.”

“Fine, you big baby.” Nash glanced around the space and paused to look at the drawings from the architect on the table as I handed them each their iced tea.

“Thanks,” they said at the same time.

“Magnolia Beans’s finest.” I stared down at the design with them.

“You’ve already ordered the couches that you’re bringing in, right?” Kingston asked, and I swear his gaze zeroed in on my mouth when I pulled my drink away before it snapped back up.

“Yes. They’re already here. I’ve got them in my garage. I figured you’d want to wait until the floors are in and the shelves are built.”

“Yep, that’s the plan,” Nash said, as he glanced down at his phone when it vibrated. “For fuck’s sake. Mrs. Brighton wants to know where we are. I’m going to head out with a few of the guys. I’ll stop by later today.”

“Good luck. We’ve got this.” Kingston took a long pull from his iced tea, just as his team showed up, and they parked in the large alley behind the building.

He stepped out to help them unload the palettes of wood and supplies, and everyone got to work.

I’d purposely taken today off because I wanted to watch and learn, because who knows? Maybe I’d expand my business someday. Learning how to take an empty space and turn it into something magical was a skill. And Kingston Pierce was a very talented woodworker. He had his saw set up on a table in the back lot as he directed everyone to specific tasks. His team was working on the bookshelves inside while he was framing out the checkout station that I’d sketched for him. I wanted it to look like a piece of vintage furniture and match the aesthetic of the place.

“You sure you don’t want to have the guys paint this when they paint the bookshelves? It’s going to be a big piece, and it’ll be a beast to paint yourself.” He ran his large hand over the piece of wood that he’d just cut for the base.

“Nope. I’ve watched a ton of YouTube videos now, and I am determined to put my stamp on this particular piece. It’ll be a real focal point for the bookstore.”

He nodded. “All right. I can help if you need me to.”

“I’ll be fine. I like getting my hands dirty.” I shrugged, and the look in his eyes after I’d said that had me squeezing my thighs together. Kingston was a flirt by nature, so I knew not to take it seriously. He and I had always shared a bond, one not everyone even knew about. I trusted him immensely, and he’d been a really good friend to me. But he was also sexy as sin, and sometimes I had to remind myself to stop staring. “I just mean I want to help where I can.”

“Yeah? All right, how about I teach you how to use this table saw? You’ve already got the eyewear on, so we’ll just be careful.”

“Really?” I moved beside him, where he was cutting the next piece. “I’d love that.”

“Come here,” he said, stepping back and making room for me to stand in front of him. “It’s all about taking your time and guiding the piece carefully where you want it.”

His arms came around me, and his hands moved on top of mine. They were calloused and covered in sawdust, and they engulfed my much smaller hands. He turned on the saw and moved our fingers along the wood, with his chest pressed against my back. He spoke in my ear. “Follow the line and keep it steady.”

I focused on the wood and leaned forward before I realized my butt was pressed against his groin.

“You need to stop wiggling your ass, Saylor. I can’t concentrate when you do that.” His voice was gruff, and I startled when I realized that something was poking me in the ass. I was fairly certain it was Kingston’s erection, unless he had a large flashlight tucked in his groin. I stayed perfectly still until the wood was cut, and he leaned forward and turned off the saw.

---